The present invention relates to brake hose couplings and, in particular, to coupling bodies that can connect to a glad hand body.
Pneumatic pressure in a brake line will release the brakes of a railroad car allowing a train to move. The brake line is a pipe running along the length of each car with a flexible hose at either end terminating in a glad hand body. Typically the midsection of the brake line connects through angle cocks at either end to the flexible hose and glad hand body. The angle cock at the end of the last car can be closed to keep pressure in the brake line.
A known pneumatic coupling device (U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,875) can attach to the last glad hand coupling for the purpose of terminating the brake line and for measuring the pressure at that terminus. This known coupling body has a handle with a pair of flanges for engaging the flanges of the glad hand coupling. The device has a latching arm that prevents removal by swinging into a position behind one of the glad hand flanges. A disadvantage with this known coupling is the reliance on the existence of clearance behind the glad hand flange. Such clearance may not exist in all models. See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,642,892 for a similar device, but lacking a lock.
The angle cocks used in brake lines often employ a lock to prevent inadvertent rotation of the cock. These devices employ latching members that are either operated manually or otherwise. In some embodiments, the latching is performed by lifting the handle of the cock to release the cock. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 236,388; 895,756; 1,707,273; 1,459,654; 1,801,816; 2,048,353; 4,423,749; and 4,456,219.
Some glad hand couplings employ a latch to keep the glad hands together and avoid accidental decoupling from road vibration. Various devices have been employed that involve pivotally mounted latches and wire locking devices. All of them have had disadvantages in that they move awkwardly or are difficult to manipulate. For example, to decouple the glad hand couplings of U.S. Pat. No. 3,879,066, a worker would typically depress lever 28 and then rotate it under a glad hand flange. This operation runs the risk of catching the worker's fingers. See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 236,388; 873,892; 1,525,794; 3,023,031; 3,052,489; 4,129,323; 4,402,534; 4,747,623.